Collections and access policies of the digital material of ten National Libraries

Abstract

We explore the digital collections of ten National Libraries and the applied access policies, when the digital material is free or restricted or the reproduction requires written permission or fees. We classify the implemented access policies according to their characteristics. We examine the differences among the implemented access policies and we generalize the solution approaches combining the varying parameters and other relevant emerging ones. The selection of the access policies is crucial for the acceptance and maintenance of the digital libraries. The success of any conventional or digital library depends on the usage of its material from the users. The usage of the material depends on the selection of the access policy.